Together in the overgrowth
by Tussey
Summary: After finding themselves the lone survivors of a plane crash, Hiccup and Astrid must find a way to survive the jungle, by any means. Only Thor knows what's out there...or who. Hiccstrid/Modern AU. Characters might be a bit OOC. Rating may change
1. Chapter 1

Hungry, Astrid was hungry. She hadn't had anything to eat since she woke up this morning and it was already an hour after midday. Of course, there had been the issue of having to catch a plane, which stressed her out more than she would've wanted to admit. She woke up late and still had to pack, neglecting to do that yesterday night in favour of watching a couple more episodes of her favourite TV show. truthfully, it was not the smartest move on her behalf, but her couch just looked so appealing and was just begging to be lain upon. So, she caved and grabbed her freshly microwaved popcorn and plopped herself down on to her couch.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye and when she turned to look at the time, she froze, making sure she read the clock right, before bolting from the couch and in to her bedroom where she found an empty suitcase and a whole pile of clothes that still needed to be folded and packed. She had decided that she would be able to do that in the morning, she would just have to set her alarm for a little earlier than she would normally have.

The idea sounded like a perfectly reasonable plan, but plans always work better in our heads than they do in reality. Not only had she slept through her alarm, she had also found that her passport wasn't in the usual drawer. All in all, the entire fiasco had left her with no time to grab any food for herself and she was forced to leave the warmth of her house and head out to the airport.

Thankfully, the stress that she was feeling had lessened her need for nutrition and she had powered through customs and all the necessary steps before boarding the plane.

However, seeing as she had made it to the plane just on time, her stress had faded away to let in the aching hunger. She heard her stomach grumble once...twice...three times before she couldn't take it any more. She pushed the button that would alert the cabin crew. Once a crew member had reached her she asked for snacks, a lot of snacks, for that was the only remedy for her cravings.

After her cravings had died down, she took a moment to look around the plane. What stuck her as particularly odd was the fact that there were almost no people on board. Granted, the were on a small plane and her destination wasn't exactly a tourist paradise, she had still expected more people. To her right she could see what looked like a married couple, sitting next to an elderly person. To her right she could see a young man, he had earphones in and seemed to be sleeping. He looked tall, and had a very messy mop of hair that has likely never been properly taken care of. Somehow though, it suited him. Because his face was leaning away from her, she couldn't make out any details of his face. She would just have to imagine it.

Behind her were a couple of other people but she hadn't bothered to inspect them closely. In total, she estimated that there were only about a dozen or so people on her flight.

She closed her eyes, deciding that she could use some rest before landing. Putting in her earphones, she shut her eyes and slowly drifted off in to a deep slumber, completely shutting herself from the rest of the world.

The only thing that had managed to wake her up was the oxygen mask falling from the ceiling. Still a bit dazed from her deep sleep, she looked around to see the couple clutching their heads between their knees. She turned to her left to see that man with the messy mop of hair in a similar predicament as her, completely oblivious to what was happening. She caught his gaze for just a second, finding emerald orbs staring right back at her.

That was the last thing she saw before darkness enveloped her.

* * *

Hiccup had made it to the plane quite early, as he usually would do. It calmed him down knowing that he had made it with time to spare. Checking his ticket to find out which seat he was allocated, he moved along the aisles, finding and settling down in his window seat. He pulled out his earphones and carefully placed them in his ear.

He enjoyed seeing the people board the plane, he liked seeing the different types of people that he would be flying with. He may have also been secretly been judging their choice of clothing and whatnot, but he would never admit that. He saw a flock of people enter at once and had difficulty seeing all of them. Surprisingly, those people were the only ones to come on for a while. When it was nearly time to take off, he looked behind him to make sure he hadn't missed anybody come on. He hadn't.

Just before he closed his eyes, thinking that all the passengers must have arrived, he saw a flash of golden blonde hair move past the crew members, racing towards her seat. She sat down in the aisle seat, completely flustered and seemingly exhausted. After giving her one more glance he turned back and closed his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night and he would make sure to catch up on some of that lost sleep on the plane ride. The music playing in his ear softly lulled him into sleep.

He felt something brush up against his skin, not hard enough to forcefully awaken him, but definitely enough to annoy him and try to brush it away with a swipe of the hand. He swept his hand across his face in an attempt to remove whatever was irritating him, only ta grab onto something that seemed to resemble a mask of some sort.

Opening his eyes he found that his hand was cupping an oxygen mask. Completely disorientated and perplexed, he looked around to find some sort of justification as to why this this would be right in his face. The only thing that he could see were eyes that made him think of the clear blue sky on a beautiful summer's day staring back at him.

That was the last thing before his sight and consciousness was swept in to darkness.

* * *

 **This is my first fanfiction, so any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated :)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

Pain, that was all hiccup could feel. Pain searing and sweeping across his whole body, moving from one end to the other. He felt like he had been thrown off a hill of rocks, managing to hit and scrape every inch of his skin relentlessly. He did not know where he was and how he ended up there, all he knew was that every little movement of his body sent a tidal wave of suffering and agony through his battered and bruised body.

He just stayed there, sitting, waiting for something to happen. It felt like hours since he regained consciousness. Slowly, he opened his eyes to try to make sense of what was happening. It took a little while for his eyes to adjust to the new environment, but as soon as his eyes were fully adjusted, he wished he hadn't opened them.

In front of him did not see the little screen on the back of the seat in front of him, nor did he see the seat. All he could see was debris and splashes of what looked like blood, he couldn't really tell. Bags were strewn across the floor along with some food and drinks. Since it was a small plane, he could see all the way to the cockpit. The only problem was however, that there was no cockpit. Instead there was a huge whole in the front of the plane. His heartbeat started racing. He was sure that he was dreaming, that this was all just a nasty nightmare and that he would wake anytime now and that this would all be over. Oh, how he wished that to be true.

Hiccup tried to make out what was beyond the now empty cockpit. Although he could see, his eyesight seemed to be a bit blurred. No doubt due to the enormous shock he had just received. He thought he could hear rustling and creaks. Were there trees out there? He tried to focus his eyesight more and after a few minutes he was able to make out what the objects were. There were trees outside, many of them. They looked to be covered in some sort of green substance. The whole area was covered in green foliage it seemed.

It was obvious now that they had been in a plane crash, but where did the plane crash? It didn't seem as though they had crashed in a populated area, otherwise there would have been help already. Therefore he deduced that they must've landed in a pretty remote area.

His train of thought was interrupted by a soft cough. As he ignored the pain racing through his body he carefully craned his neck to see who or what had made that noise. When he saw it, or rather, when he saw her, memories of a star blue gaze entered into his mind. The blonde that had been late to board the plane, the blonde that had seemingly run out of breath while racing down the aisle of a plane. He hadn't payed much mind to her after that, opting to get a few hours of shut eye before they landed.

However, now that he took more time to look at her and study her face, mainly the parts that weren't injured and covered with droplets of blood, he found that he quite liked the sight of her, however bizarre their situation may be.

He heard another cough, this one filled with more pain than anything, coming from her. He waited to see if she would open her eyes, or move a part of her body, but she just remained still. Only the shallow rise of her chest letting him know that she was in fact alive, but probably not so well.

Watching her seemed to have a numbing effect on him. He was not feeling the torturous pain he was feeling when he had just woken up. Deciding that it would do him nor her any good if he stayed in his seat, observing his surroundings, he moved his right arm to try and unbuckle his belt from his waist. That was easier said than done. The initial discomfort he felt when moving his arm had slowly gone away to leave a dull aching sensation in his right arm, as if he had just lifted a ton of weights.

Finding the cool metal of the belt, that was jabbing and rubbing against his stomach, he pulled the lever with any strength he could muster and released himself from the constraints of the seat belt. The feeling he felt when he felt the tension being lifted and thrown away from his waist could be described as nothing less than euphoric.

It took him a while to regain his senses but after a few minutes he was even more determined to get out of this seat. He was not going to simply give in and die, not when he had a fighting chance at survival. You could thank his stubbornness for that.

Moving his left arm forwards, trying to get the stiffness out of his muscles, he tried to push himself up a bit to find a more comfortable position. After slowly both his arms a bit to feel more confident in moving his arms around, he grabbed both handles of the side of his chair and summoning any power he could get, he pushed himself upright, thinking that he would easily be able to stand up. He had of course forgotten that he also had two legs, two legs that folded in on themselves the second Hiccup put any pressure on them. Stumbling forwards, he managed to grasp onto the head of his chair.

He stayed there, completely still, waiting to make his move again. After a couple of minutes he thought that his legs would have significantly recovered to not fail on him a second time. Taking a tentative step onto his right foot, trying to establish whether or not his leg would give way again. To his immense relief his leg managed to stay upright. Shortly after this he placed his left foot forward, with the same result.

Taking an unsteady step forwards he made his way over to the apparently unconscious blonde strapped in her chair. Even though he could now take steps without falling on his face, it still took a lot of effort to walk and he was very thankful that he when he had arrived at her aisle, were he was able to lean against one the chairs.

Not wasting anymore time he tried to call her and potentially wake her up.

"Hey"

His voice was anything but clear. His voice was soft and hoarse. Taking a few deep breaths and swallowing once or twice to smooth his throat, he tried again. This time determined to make his voice louder, much louder.

"Hey!"

This time he got the reaction he was hoping for. He could see her brows furrow, and her eyelids flutter, threatening to open at any moment. Her face was contorted into one of pain and confusion. Next, he saw her arms make small movements, resting uneasily on the armrest of the chair. He could not wait any longer, he needed her to wake up.

"Hey, wake up!"

At this, her eyes shot open, darting from left to right to find the source of the noise. After a few anxious seconds, she noticed the man from earlier, standing next to her, seemingly frustrated and in some pain.

"Are you okay?" he asked, not knowing what else to say. It was obvious she wasn't in top form as is evident with the stream of dried blood along the side of her face.

"Where…What happened?" her voice sounded rough and very timid. As would be expected from someone who had just been woken up to find herself in the middle of a crashed plane. Being scared would be an understatement.

"The plane crashed, not too sure where, but not in an area where people can find us easily." He responded, getting straight to the point. He himself wanted to know where the hell they had crashed, hoping to all of the Gods out there that they wouldn't be in a too serious predicament. Somehow though, he doubted that, if those green trees were anything to go by. He could think about that when they actually got out of the plane, but for now, all his focus was aimed at the injured woman in front of him.

"Look, I need to get you out of that seat" Hiccup told her while leaning forward to grasp the buckle in his hands. "Is this okay?" he asked again. Astrid appeared to contemplate his question before simply nodding to him, too scared and utterly bewildered to respond with her voice.

Gently, he unbuckled the belt, freeing her from her restriction. She let out a sigh of relief as she could breathe normally again. Astrid remained still for a couple of moments, taking deep breathes, trying to regain her composure and make sense of the situation they were now in. she could scarcely believe it, just a couple of hours ago, at least, that's what she thought, she was dashing to catch a plane. Now she was in the middle of nowhere on a wrecked plane with a stranger talking to her.

That was not exactly how she imagined her holiday in South America would begin. She had needed a break from her everyday, normal life. It became boring, she was used to a routine and would stick to that routine for the whole week. Her life had turned into one of waking up in the morning, getting to work to do what ever was necessary, and get home to watch some TV or go to sleep if it was an especially arduous day. So when she saw some advert promoting some not very well known place in South America, she made her decision and booked the holiday.

"Hey, can you move at all?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a concerned Hiccup. "Because if you can we should try to get out of here and get some help." She moves her arms, finding that it doesn't hurt too much. With that added confidence, she tries to push herself off the hand rests of the seat and stand up. Much to her amazement, and that of Hiccup's, she stands up without her knees crumbling under the pressure of her weight.

"Okay, good. Follow me." Hiccup did not want to spend anymore time than was necessary on that plane, they could talk more once they were outside. He wanted to get out and search for help, if there was any. Looking behind him, he noticed that Astrid had maneuvered her way out of her seating complex and was now starting to catch up with him. Hiccup and Astrid moved at a slow, but steady pace, both realising that the route to survival was out there.

Wherever 'there' was, neither knew, but they had to find out.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for the amazing response to the first chapter! Your kind reviews gave me so much more motivation to write this second chapter.**

 **As per usual, reviews are greatly appreciated as it gives me a way to gauge how you guys are liking this story. If there's anything that you think I could improve upon to make this story even better then please, feel free to leave you suggestions in a review or a PM.**

 **I know that the chapters so far haven't been very long, and I apologise for that, but my timetable only gifts me so much free time.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and till next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

"What about the other people?" Astrid timidly asked behind Hiccup. She had finally found her voice after recovering from the shock that was waking up on a crashed plane. During the whole ordeal of getting out of her chair, she did not spare any thoughts to the other passengers on the plane, but now that she was up and mobile, her thoughts suddenly shifted to the couple that she saw while boarding the plane.

Astrid hoped with all her being that they had survived, she really wanted to believe that they had made it, but somehow, she felt as though she would be disappointed.

Apart from the ragged breathes of Hiccup, she could not hear anything else, the eerily quiet sound encapsulating her and sending chills down her spine. She did not want to look behind her, to find out whether the couple had survived. She wanted to protect the belief that they would be just fine, that they would wake up, stand up and follow them, just like she had done.

"What peop-" Hiccup, caught off guard by the question, quickly replied without a second thought. After regaining his senses, he understood the depth of her question. "Right…I-I will take a look." turning to face her, he scanned over the wrecked plane, trying to find any signs of life.

He trotted down the aisles, mindful of the state of his knees, not wanting to collapse again. He took a peek behind him to find Astrid with her back turned towards him. Continuing, he reached a section of seats seemingly crushed together.

He would have walked passed it were it not for the hand sticking out between the seats.

He stopped in his tracks, completely motionless. His eyes were zoned in on the hand. The hand, with a trail of dried blood rolling down his finger. He was breathless, what was he supposed to do? They don't train you for situations like these, although in this moment he somehow wishes that they did, for his body and mind had shut down, tuned out the surroundings.

He felt as light as a feather, but at the same time he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, threatening to crush him.

It felt like an hour. An hour that he had walked upon that hand and stopped. Staring at it, willing it to do something, anything! In the back of his mind though, he always knew it would never move again, that the blood would never flow through those veins again. It was a soul-crushing and devastating fact.

It had only been a couple of minutes.

He shut his eyes, forcing his mind to get rid of those corrupting images. He closed them tight, hoping everything would suddenly change once he opened them. He had to compose himself. It would do neither of them any favours if he were to freak out.

Although he was almost certain that this person was not alive, he had to make absolutely sure that he was correct. Gathering whatever senses he had, he reached out and grabbed the persons wrist, trying to feel for a pulse. Those couple of seconds where he waited for something, for a steady beat to surface, were horribly agonising.

He waited ten, twenty seconds before he concluded that that individual was not alive any more. It shocked him and it broke his heart. He had never seen a dead person before, bar for when he attended the funeral of a relative. This was different. This time he had found the person dead, he was a witness, he was part of that persons last memories. They had perished not by old age, or some deadly illness, but by a devastating plane crash. He was sure the memory of reaching out to feel their pulse would forever be embedded in his mind.

He tore his eyes away from the lifeless body and towards the rest of the plane, in search for any survivors. He was met by the gut-wrenching sight of multiple people who appeared to be either dead of unconscious. The second time was no easier than the first. It still tore at his heart strings, knowing that these people may not be alive the witness the next sunrise.

He made his way to the closest person, a man that could not have been much older than 30. Hiccup could not see whether this man was breathing or not because of his thick vest, so he repeated the same thing he had done with the person before.

Same result.

It felt like another stab to his already breaking heart. He could not look at this man for any longer than he had to, for the grief that he would feel would become an ever increasing burden the longer he remained in front of him.

It did not become easier the third time, or the fourth.

All the same results.

He clenched his jaw, for what seemed like the thousandth time, trying to get all of those people out of his head. Those dead, lifeless bodies sitting in the chairs. He had found four people, all of them deceased. He could not go any further because it was simply not possible to go any further. The big cluster of debris was preventing him from progressing. He really, really hoped that nobody was seated beyond the debris, or that if anyone was in there that they had made it out. He doubted his own words.

Turning around, he was presented with an overview of the wreckage, he could see Astrid standing close to what looked like an exit, he could see the lolled back heads and drooped shoulders of the passengers who had not received the same fate as him and Astrid. Taking a closer look, he came to the conclusion that they both were extremely lucky. Their seating areas appeared to be the only section that had not been subject to the force of the crash.

Hiccup started to make his way back to Astrid, his legs taking him away from the other passengers. How Astrid would react, he did not know, but he hoped that she would not start panicking. He was not sure he could handle the added stress of that. While walking back, he began to go over the different things he could say to her, to minimalise panic. Should he be blunt, or should he sugar coat it?

"Hey…"

He saw her startle and jump up a bit when he spoke. He still had not made up his made about how he would deliver the news to her, maybe it would suddenly pop up in his head, maybe not.

"Nobody…Nobody made it." It flew out of his mouth. Short but to the point answer, he would take that. He had already come to terms with the fact that they would be alone, most likely for the remainder of what ever this was. However, judging by the reaction of Astrid, she had not expected that answer. He eyes widened, her jaw clenched, she started to breathe more heavily. He had expected this, but had no plan on how to actually counter this reaction. He barely knew the woman. What was he supposed to do, hug her and tell her that everything would be okay?

He made his decision when her hands had started to shake. He pulled her in by her arms and wrapped his own around her lithe frame. He thought that this was the best way to deal with the response that she was having. He could feel her shakes and trembles vibrate throughout his body, her quiet sobs that were leaking onto his chest. This was al; he could offer her at the moment, he was never really good with words. He sincerely hoped that whatever he was doing was soothing her panic, he really did.

Astrid could not believe what he had just said. All of them dead. The nice looking couple she had seen when she was boarding the plane. They were gone. All the other passengers she had caught sight of were gone. She found it hard to wrap her head around what had just happened and now this. She began to shake, she was losing control of herself. That was until she found herself cocooned in the arms of the man of whom she did not yet know the name of.

"All of them dead." It was more a statement than a question, trying to convince herself that they were actually in this situation. She could feel Hiccup nod his head slightly on top of hers. Surprisingly, she had found comfort in his arms. Why she did, she had no idea, but she would not dispute that claim right now.

"I never got your name."

Hiccup broke the silence by asking the question he really should have asked when they had first met.

She took a deep, long breath. Composing herself, making sure that her voice was firm.

"I'm Astrid, what about you?" she responded with a small smile, although he couldn't see it

"I'm Hiccup, it's nice to meet you." Like Astrid, he was also smiling for what seemed like the first time in forever.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hiccup?" Astrid choked out. As if their predicament hadn't been weird enough, his name was just the cherry on top of all that.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my parents were drunk or something when they named me." Hiccup chuckled. He really wasn't sure why his mother and father had given him that name. He had heard stories from his uncle that weird and ugly names would fend off any evil trolls. Some others included Hiccup's dad losing a bet

The sombre mood had been lifted slightly, all because of his name. They stayed in that embrace for a little while, seeking comfort in each other. Astrid's trembling had died down and she was breathing easily against the fabric of his shirt, and her tears had dried up, with little patches of moisture visible on Hiccup's shirt.

Feeling that enough time had passed, Hiccup slowly let go of Astrid, still making sure to gently hold on to her arms.

"We really should get off this plane, at least, what's left of it." he said softly. He was trying to find any signs of panic in her eyes, but to his immense relief, he could see none. She even let a small laugh escape her lips.

"Yeah, I guess we should."

They both released each other, and started to look around to find a suitable way to exit the plane. The big, gaping hole in the cockpit seemed like a reasonable place to start. Navigating their way through the cluster of seats and bags, they reached the cockpit. No pilots in sight, but they doubted that they would see either of them anytime soon. Now that they were closer to the hole, they could see further out in to the open space. Maybe now they could finally figure out where in God's name they had ended up.

They could see trees, a lot of trees, just as before. Some trees covered with leaves, some having vines with colourful flowers blooming from its roots. It was quite the scenery. Had the circumstances been different, Hiccup would have thoroughly enjoyed the sight. However, his current position did not allow him the luxury to gush about the environment. Looking down he saw that the trip down would not be very smooth, sharp edges of torn off metal protruded from the base of the cockpit area. Looking back over his shoulder he tried to see if there was another way they could get off the plane without running the risk of slicing themselves on the sharp metal. Both exits had been blocked by the piles of seats and bags, so that option was scrapped.

The last thing both of them needed was to be nursing painful wounds. It would not only be a hindrance to their attempt at survival, but he was not sure where the medical supplies were, or if they were still on the plane for that matter. Not that they didn't escape from the wreckage without some small cuts and bruises, but those were too cmall to be of any real concern to their health. "I guess this is the only way down." he mumbled to himself, but loud enough for Astrid to hear. She hummed in response, apparently also aware of the danger that this particular descent posed.

Not finding an alternative way of disembarking the plane, he turned to Astrid. "I'll go down first, okay?". He did not want her to go first and potentially injure herself. She nodded. He slowly crept forward, carefully figuring out the best way to climb down. Everywhere he looked, he saw the sharp ends of the broken and ripped metal, patiently waiting to pierce his skin. He looked to the left, then right. As he looked right, his eye caught what seemed like a small pole, sticking out from the edge of where the cockpit had been ripped off. Hoping that it would stay in place, he tentatively walking over, grabbed the pole with both hands, and gave it a small tug. It stayed rooted to the floor. He breathed a sigh of relief. What added to his luck was that the pole was pointing towards the outside world, allowing him to hold on to it when he went down.

"I think this should work, it's protruding outwards so I can keep hold of it when I climb down." he told Astrid. He grabbed the pole, making sure his hands were sweat free, and took a small step down. The first step was nerve wracking, praying to all the Gods the metal held firm under his weight. The metal cracked and squeaked under the pressure of his first foot, but held firm. He let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Slowly, with his hand still gripping the pole tightly, he lowered his other foot onto the next piece of metal, hoping for the same outcome. Just as the one before, the metal made cracking noises but did not break. He could feel his hand starting to sweat, threatening to weaken his grip on the pole.

He continued down, anxious every time he set his foot down. After several minutes, he finally felt the sweet relief of earth. He made sure he distanced himself from the wreckage before he turned back around. When he did he saw Astrid glance at him with an anxious look in her eyes. She was unsure, because even though Hiccup had made it down safely, there were no guarantees that she would do the same. Sensing that she was scared, he tried to calm her down and reassure her that she would not slip if she did exactly what he did.

Somehow, his voice had the ability to calm her down enough to grab the pole and start climbing down. He had stared anxiously at her, mentally willing her on. She had a couple of scares, but thankfully because of her tight hold on the pole, she did not fall down. After a couple more minutes, she had safely climbed down and she let out a sigh of relief when her feet touched the ground.

She walked over to Hiccup, still breathing with a sense of relief. "What now?" she asked, because she really had no idea where they would go from here. She had never, ever been in a situation like this. Should they go left? Should they go right? Maybe straight ahead? She was completely clueless. She _really_ hoped Hiccup wasn't.

"I'm not too sure." he replied, giving a small shrug of the shoulders. "this place looks pretty isolated to me, so I doubt that any help will be able to reach us." He noted with a sombre tone in his voice. It was true, they were completely isolated. The only thing they could see were trees and bushes. The sun was high in the sky so Hiccup estimated that it was around noon. He wasn't sure how that information would aid him in any way, but he was happy that he at least knew the time of day.

"We should probably find some supplies, like food and drink if we plan on surviving." he told Astrid, looking around aimlessly. he realised that, in their sudden rush to get off the plane, they had completely neglected the fact that most of the supplies were not on the muddy earth in front of them, but were in fact on the plane. He had not thought about that, and now that he had, he felt awfully stupid, and very annoyed. It meant that they had to go back in to the plane. And the only way was through that ripped off cockpit. "Um, I think we forgot that the supplies would be on the plane." he turned to Astrid, and she looked the least bit happy about the sudden revelation.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath, she really did not want to climb up those stupid and dangerous metal shards again.

* * *

 **Sorry about the really long wait guys, but I have had so much work to do lately. In between visiting various universities, driving lessons and a theory test (which I passed!), general school work, I have not had very much time to write anything. that is one part of the reason why I did not update for nearly a month, but the other part is that I just did not have the motivation to write at all. I'm sure that fellow writers will agree with me when i say that it is ultra hard to write when your motivation is extremely low. Now though, I have a bit more time on my hands so I thought that I would update again. I hope that you guys like it. I'm not sure if this chapter is up to my standard, but i hope you like it nonetheless.**

 **to the guest reviewer that asked if I was alright, I very much am alright, but thank you so much for your concern, it genuinely raised my spirits to know that someone was thinking about my story.**

 **Again sorry for the long wait, but life happens, and when it does, it happens hard.**

 **To the guest reviewer who asked whether I could have the setting in a parallel or alien world : Unfortunately, I do not plan to have any kind of alien creatures in this story, as I do not want this story to become clustered with many different ideas. this story is mainly based around Hiccup and Astrid's survival and the people they meet on the way. So it's likely that there will also be no dragons in this story either (but there might be some animals). To be quite honest, I am, for the most part, making it up as I go along. Thank you for the suggestion though.**

 **If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism please feel free to let me know.**

 **Enjoy :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Hiccup did not want to go back up there. Anywhere but there. He suddenly felt so stupid for forgetting that all the necessary supplies to be able to survive were still situated on that damned plane. He was just too busy coming to terms with the fact that they had crashed in the middle of nowhere, coming to terms with those lifeless bodies and that cold, limp hand.

"I'll go back up there to get whatever I can salvage and see if I can find some supplies." He told Astrid. It would be pointless to have her climb back up on the plane as well.

"I can come with you if you want." Astrid replied, although the statement lacked any sort of conviction and did nothing to convince him that she actually wanted to go back up in that piece of shit plane, with its piece of shit sharp metal.

"No-no it's fine, you don't have to. It isn't the biggest plane so we don't both have to be on it, I'm sure I can find whatever we need on my own." He could see the relief in her azure eyes as he spoke.

With a deep sigh he made his way back to the front of the plane, scouting any possible sections on the shredded debris that would make climbing back up any easier. He came up empty. He was going to have to climb up the same way the climbed down. Somehow it didn't seem as daunting as it had before. It was still scary and dangerous, but he'd done it once already so there was no reason why he couldn't do it again. Right? He could see the pole he had grabbed on to to stabilise himself on the trek down, and would be sure to make good use of that now when he went back up.

Just as before, he tested the first slab of sharp metal to see if they would crumble and break under his weight. It creaked and cracked, teasing him, but did nothing further. He steadied himself before climbing to the next scrap of metal. Again, the piece threatened to break, but held firm. He was almost at the top before he realised that the sweat beads on his forehead had drifted downwards towards his mouth. He dragged his arm across his face to remove all the sweat the had accumulated. When he pulled his arm back, the part of his sleeve that he had used to wipe his face had been completely covered and drenched in sweat.

With a final haul he pulled himself back on to the plane. A sense of déjà vu came over him, the sight of the wreckage filling parts of his gut with dread. They had survived that. They should have been dead, he knew that. It was just by dumb luck that both of them hadn't died. Maybe the Gods were looking out for him. Then again, they were now stranded deep in a forest or jungle of some sort. He didn't know what was worse; Die a quick painless death in a plane crash or not dying from the plane crash but dying from dehydration and starvation. Maybe the Gods were playing games with them, seeing how long they could survive on their own. They probably had some bets going on. He'd be sure to ask them when his time came.

It all looked the same as when they had exited the plane. The same bags strewn across the floor, half opened from the impact. The same detached seats barricading the aisles, blocking his view to the rear of the plane. The same long crack running along the right side of the interior of the planes wall. It looked so fragile, as if it would crumble and split with but a blow of his breath. It all looked so fragile. Hiccup never imagine that a plane could look so breakable. They were supposed to be sturdy and strong, capable of carrying hundreds of people across oceans and flying at tremendous speeds; but now it looked as weak and breakable as glass. It was near unfathomable.

Glancing around he tried to spot the crew area. It seemed like the best place to search for food and medical kits, seeing as they usually kept their stock in the cupboards there. Walking forward, mindful of loose debris laying scattered on the floor, he spotted the side of what looked like a cupboard. The only problem was that the path was blocked. He examined what was blocking his way and he was thankful that, with some effort, it could be moved.

He grabbed the end of one of the seats, situated on top of the blockade, and tried to pull it down. He didn't want to yank on it too hard, or it would fall back on to him and that would just complicate things even further. The seat slid slowly off the top and he made sure to push it aside while it was falling. With a grunt he threw the chair to the side, taking a small rest to recuperate. It was surprisingly more arduous than he had anticipated and he was suddenly a whole lot more grateful to his friends for dragging him to the gym at least once a week. After a sufficient resting period, he made to grab the next chair, repeating the same process.

He removed the last chair after several minutes, thoroughly exhausted. The path wasn't as clear-cut as he would have liked, but it would suffice. Reaching the crew area he scanned the top of the desks and began to rummage around in the top cupboards. Most of the stuff that were originally on the counter tops were littered across the floor, many of them either opened or completely destroyed. He checked the first cupboard, pleasantly surprised to find that most of the stock had survived the ordeal. It was mostly water and snacks. It wasn't much, but right now he would take anything he could.

He had water bottles and snacks but nowhere to put them. It didn't look like there were any plastic bags in the crew area. He scoured around, looking for anything that could hold the supplies. His eyes settled on a luggage bag, half open with something hanging out of it. He walked up to it and grabbed it. He checked to see if there was anything that he could use in the bag, before emptying it of its contents.

Hiccup walked back to the crew area and placed the bag on the counter top. He grabbed all the water bottles he could and placed them in. Next, he took all the packets of snacks and placed them next to the water bottles, trying to save as much space as possible. Not long after, he had a full bag of water bottles and unhealthy food.

Now that he had the food and drinks covered he had to go in search for a medical kit. He was sure that if they were going to survive they would have to use the medical kit once or twice. He didn't find anything in the remaining upper cupboards so he knelt down and opened one of the floor cabinets, hoping to find what he was looking for. The first cabinet came up empty, only having some rags and cleaning items. When he opened the second cabinet he caught a glimpse of green, and he hoped dearly that that was the medical kit. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the white cross on the kit. It looked like it was still in fairly good condition, only slightly battered, but the inside was still intact. All that they needed to treat a wound was in there, but they hoped that that time would not come. He doubted it wouldn't come.

Feeling as if his time on the plane had come to an end, he threw the bag over his shoulder, hanging on tightly, and made a bee-line for the cockpit. He had some difficulty fitting through the path that the had made when removing those seats, but he pushed the bag through first and followed fight after. When he was nearly there a thought popped into his head. The clothes that he was wearing were the only set of clothes that he had at the moment. He had packed all of his other clothes in his main suitcase, which was in the luggage compartment. From where he was there was no way into the luggage compartment, so he quickly brushed off that idea. However, maybe other people had decided to pack clothes in their carry-on bag.

He did not want to spend God knows how many days with no spare clothes, you know, with bad hygiene and all. Granted it wasn't of the utmost importance that he find spare clothes, but it would be a comfort to know that they did not have to trek in the same clothes all day every day. He reached the cockpit and put down the bag and medical kit. He turned around and tried to spot any bags with that could potentially hold clothes. He saw one that was close to where he was sitting, so he headed for that. Upon arriving, he realised that this was where Astrid had sat. He picked the bag up and opened it up. He was happy, but at the same time he was bummed to find that there were items of clothing in the bag, just that they were designed for women. He guessed that these were Astrid's. He closed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He turned back around, hoping to find other bags.

He walked passed some, opening but not finding anything worth taking with him. He was about to give up when he found a bag, wedged in between two seats, he almost walked by it, not bearing much hope that this one would contain clothes. Almost. He decided to stop and pull it out. He unzipped it and he let out a chuckle when he found that it was stacked with clothes. He looked through the bag, finding some shirts and trousers. With a small grin, he zipped the bag up again and slung it over his other shoulder.

He made his way to the cockpit again, this time fairly certain that he had taken everything that he could. He put the two bags filled with clothes down next to the other supplies. Now, though, he realised that he had to find a way to get them down. He could throw them down first and hope that nothing would be damaged, but he didn't feel like taking that risk. He decided to call Astrid over.

"Hey, Astrid!" she was sitting down against a tree, picking at her nails anxiously. At the sound of her name her head shot up. "Can you come over here please. I need to get these bags down, but I don't want to throw them down. Could you just stand in front of me and catch the bags?" he asked her. She nodded, stood up and started to walk over to the front of the plane.

"Is this fine?" She questioned. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't scared, because she was. How heavy were those bags? Did they have sharp things in them? Would she be crushed if she couldn't hold on to it? All of those thoughts entered her mind at once, overwhelming her.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine. Don't worry Astrid, they aren't too heavy, and even if you do drop one, it won't break. So don't be scared." he gave her a small smile, reassuring her. "Ready?" he asked finally, the medical bag in his hands. He chose that one first because it was the easiest one to get down because it didn't weigh as much as the others. She gave a small nod.

He threw the bag down with ease, and she caught it effortlessly. He grabbed the other bag with her clothes in it, now much heavier than the previous one. Her eyes seemed to light up when she recognised her own bag. "Alright, this one is going to be a bit heavier than the other but you should fine." He didn't really need to tell her that, it was _her_ bag, she knew how much it weighed. With a huff and a small grunt he threw it down. She caught this one as well, but with a little more difficulty than the other. "Ok?" He asked once she put the bag down.

"Yeah I'm fine." she gave a weak smile. She prepared herself for the others.

He repeated the same process for the other bag with clothes and got the same result. Now it was time for the big one. The water bottles and snacks. This one way by far the heaviest, so he made sure to take extra care with this one. "This one is the heaviest, so be prepared to drop it if it too heavy." This did cause her eyes to widen ever so slightly.

"Ready?"

"Y-yeah." her voice wavering a bit.

"1…2…3!" he gave a loud grunt throwing the bag down, making sure it missed the protruding sharp ends of the metal. The next thing he heard was a dull cry. He looked to see that Astrid had dropped the bag and was clutching her right arm. He hoped that she hadn't injured herself too badly. "Are you ok, Astrid?" he asked, his voice thick with concern. She was rubbing her arm up and down, as if trying to get the pain to rub off.

"Ugh…Yeah, I'm fine, just a small bruise I think." She replied. He was a tad apprehensive, but decided to trust her judgement.

He began that dreaded descent once again.

* * *

 **Another chapter! It seems that I've got the writing bug again. Thank you guys all for the lovely reviews, it really encouraged me to write more. This is my longest chapter so far but somehow i felt that it was the easiest to write for me. I'm not sure why that is, but hey, more words!**

 **I know that there isn't much interaction yet between Hiccup and Astrid, but they are still coming to terms with this whole mess, they naturally they are a bit more reserved and quiet. But fear not, they will start to get to know each other in the following chapters.**

 **Thank you guys so much and ENJOY**


	6. Chapter 6

Having done it already, it was simply a matter of remembering where he had put his feet. The whole process took substantially less time than it had previously, and he was all the more thankful for it. His feet hit the partially mushy, partially damp grass. He strode over to where Astrid was standing with the bags. Her unsteady and shivering hands were rummaging through the food bag, and he figured it had been quite a while since either of them had eaten anything.

Crisps, chocolate bars and packaged sandwiches. It wasn't a lot, but with a bit of luck it would span them a good few days. How many days, she wasn't sure, but with a bit of rationing it would last them over a week. Hopefully.

"A week, maybe more." She said, taking a small chocolate bar for her and one for him. The familiar aroma and the sugary taste of the chocolate reminded her of home and sent a wave of desolation over her body. They were two forlorn figures in the middle of a sea of trees, clueless as to where they were and how they would survive this ordeal. Like a film, very much like a film, she thought. She half expected a man with a cap and a hot steaming cup of coffee to emerge from the bushes, tell her that this isn't real, that it's just an elaborate simulation.

"What now?" She asked, because quite frankly she was mystified and not one idea popped into her mind. Looking at him, she could feel his puzzled lineaments squashing her hopes.

"I really have no idea, we could go in any direction and hope that there is something, anything that could help us, but don't hold your breath." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, ostensibly to ease his nerves. They were in a very sticky situation. "We could, in any case, also stay right where we are and hope that maybe one of the pilots sent out a distress signal or something and that a command centre can track it." They had options, they just had to choose the right one.

"You know, we could just flip a coin."Hiccup dead-panned after a few silence filled moments. It wasn't even a half terrible idea, to flip a coin. It took the responsibility of choosing a path from either of them and left it down to chance and probability. "What do you think?"

Flipping a coin did not seem to fit the general mood and severity of their situation, a light hearted way to decide over whether they were going to have pizza or Chinese or to solve a dispute between two parties, now being used in a life or death situation. She couldn't help but laugh to herself, it sounded _that_ crazy.

"Yeah, go for it." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Ok… Heads, we stay here, tails, we venture out." He reached down to take out his wallet and find a coin. Fidgeting a little with the coin, no doubt due to the nerves, he identified each side which served no apparent purpose but an attempt to put him at ease. He tossed it in the air.

"Tails." She heard him mutter. "I guess we're leaving." Was she supposed to be elated, distraught, confused, or all of them? Maybe she was neutral, no feelings yet. She'd find out soon enough.

"When are we leaving? Because I think we should rest a bit before we head out, don't you think?" She was right, he was absolutely knackered and could definitely use some sleep. They could sleep in the plane, but that meant climbing back up that perilous path and they'd be sleeping amongst the dead. A little too eerie for him, he decided.

"Yeah, you're right. I am pretty tired." He said with a yawn, just to emphasise said point. Now they had to figure out sleeping arrangements. "How do you want to sleep?" A comfortable sleep was ruled out fairly quickly, what with the ground being a little rough and bumpy. He just hoped that it didn't rain, anything but rain.

"I think we should bunch up together, you know, to retain as much body heat as possible. Layer up a lot as well, that should get us through the night at least." She hoped.

"Yeah that sounds like a good plan." And with that he set out to layer up as much as he could, while trying to lay down whatever he could to make the ground a little more enjoyable. She was next to him doing the exact same putting on another jumper and placing what she could on the floor. It was far from ideal, but they would have to make do with this.

They both sat down on their makeshift bed, shuffling awkwardly trying to get into a satisfactory sleeping position. He let his head rest on one of the thinner bags that isn't as hard as a suitcase. He could feel the individual contents of the bag when he moved his head around, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They were lying down less than a foot away from each other, staring up to the darkening sky, a scattering of stars emerging from the fading confines of the daylight. In any other circumstance he would've been in awe at how beautiful it was, but somehow he couldn't fully appreciate the view, too shaken up, still. "This is so fucked." He breathed, and had there been but more than just the quiet murmurs of the jungle surrounding them, she would've missed his words.

"So fucked." She whispered back after a while, the gentle wind carrying her words. Fingers interlaced on her stomach, she thought about home, about her dog and if she was fed, about her parents and her friends who must be getting so, so worried with every passing second. She too could feel their worry, she was alive, but she didn't feel like they would be for very long. Tears began to prick her eyes, blurring her vision of the stars up above. Thinking about who she'd be leaving behind just exacerbated her fear, anxiety and anguish. The were completely alone in the maze of trees and creatures. "Do you think we're going to make it out of here?" She whispered with a sniff, worry etched in her voice.

He had been lost in his thoughts when he heard her almost strangled voice, nearly silent. He had asked himself the same question a few minutes ago, and it dawned upon him that the possibility that they not make it out of here was incredibly real. It's something that you think will never happen to you, an untimely death. Seems so very incongruous and deranged. He understood what she was implying and he was stumped. "I don't… I don't know, honestly. I sure hope so." He did, and would until his last breath. That answer would not do much to quell her agitation. He heard another sniff and without thinking gently took her hand into his and gave her a reassuring squeeze, hoping more than anything that he calm both of them down just a little to be able to sleep. Tomorrow.

Tomorrow they would worry.

* * *

 **Hello, it is me again,**

 **I'm aware that it's been more than half a year since I last updated and I'm ultra sorry about that. I just didn't have the motivation to write and I was worrying about school and all that good stuff. This is a very short chapter, I know, but I wanted to get something out just to get the ball rolling again. This chapter is also dedicated to a friend who helped me believe in myself and my writing abilities. Thank you.**

 **(Just a little ps. I have absolutely no idea where this story is going to go and i'm kinda just making it up as we go along)(!)**

 **Please leave a review thanks love you**


End file.
